Safety device for ski lift cable



Aug. 5, 1969 E. D. GRIEVE SAFETY; DEVICE FOR SKI LIFT CABLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 1, 1967 INVE N TOR A T7DRNEVS EARL D. GR/EVE Aug. 5, 1969 Filed June 1, 1967 E. D. GRIEVE SAFETY DEVICE FOR SKI LIFT CABLE 2' Sheets-Sheet 2 w Amlln EARL 0. 619/575 INVENTDR A 77'ORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,459,138 SAFETY DEVICE FOR SKI LIFT CABLE Earl D. Grieve, El Portal, Califi, assignor of one-half to Ronald D. Hibpshman, Yosemite National Park, Calif. Filed June 1, 1967, Ser. No. 642,878 Int. Cl. 1361b 7/10 U.S. Cl. 104173 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Safety device for ski lift cables and the like including a pair of spiders having spokes to which support elements are pivoted, passage of chair lift hanger rods attached to the cable engaging the elements in sequence and imparting rotation to the spiders for moving a pair of the elements out of cable supporting relation and simultaneously camming a trailing pair of elements into such relation, thereby continuously supporting a dislodged cable during movement thereof and accommodating passage of the hanger rods between the spiders.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a safety device for ski lift cables and, more particularly, to a device associated with a ski lift cable to catch and support the cable when it becomes disengaged from its supporting sheaves.

A ski lift cable is usually supported on the upper portions of sheaves or pulley wheels mounted in elevated positions on spaced support towers with one side free for the passage of the chair lift hanger rods which are connected to the cable at spaced intervals. Each hanger rod is formed with a short part fixed to the cable and extending horizontally from the free side of the sheaves. Because this horizontal part must be of sufficient size to provide the necessary strength and stiffness, the depth of the groove of the sheave is necessarily limited. At times the sheave bearings become overheated and seize, causing the cable to be disengaged and fall to the ground, thereby creating a hazard to anyone below or on other portions of the ski lift, as well as to any person on a chair lift fixed to the dislodged portion of the cable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a safety device which catches such a dislodged cable and supports it, thus guarding against the aforementioned hazards.

Another object is to provide a safety device which accommodates passage of the chair lift hanger rods while supporting movement of the dislodged cable and opeartes in a safe and reliable manner.

The present invention contemplates a pair of spoked wheels having rollers pivoted thereto which are moved into bridging relation over a pair of supports spaced apart to accommodate passage of the chair lift hanger rods, movement of each hanger rod past the supports moving the pair of rollers ahead of the rod out of bridging relation and bringing another pair of rollers into bridging relation behind the rod.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the top of a ski lift cable support tower and showing a pair of the safety devices of the present invention mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, on a larger scale, showing the ski lift cable off its supporting sheaves and supported by the safety device of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken generally along line 33 in FIG. 2 but showing the cable on its supporting sheaves;

3,459,138 Patented Aug. 5, 1969 FIG. 4 is a perspective view somewhat similar to FIG. 2, but with parts broken away, showing the relation of the chair lift hanger rod to the cable supporting elements and to the hanger rod guides;

FIG. 5 is a sectional plan view further illustrating the relationship of the parts; and.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary detail sectional view, on a larger scale, illustrating features of the cable supporting elements.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts, there is shown in FIG. 1 a perspective iew of a pair of the safety devices of the present invention, designated generally by reference numeral 10, shown mounted on the top portion of a ski cable lift support tower 12 by means of a yard arm 14 and braces 16. Since the safety devices 10 are similar, eXcept for one being to the right and the other to the left, only one will be described in detail. Directing attention also to FIGS. 2 through 4, it will be seen that safety device 10 comprises a generally rectangular support structure 18 fixed at one side thereof to yard arm 14 and brace 16. Fixedly connected to structure 18 is a generally U-shaped sheave support 20 on which are journaled a pair of cable supporting sheaves or pulley wheels 22 supporting a ski lift cable 24. Secured to cable 24, at spaced intervals therealong, are a plurality of chair lifts 26, only one of which is shown in FIG. 1, each chair lift being provided with a hanger rod 28 having a transversely extending part 30 fixed to the cable, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. To accommodate passage of the hanger rod 28, structure 18 is cut away and provided with arcuate portions 32 which define a throat or gap 33 therebetween.

Within structure 18 is a pair of generally vertical columns or support shafts 34, 34', one on each side of throat 33, which are suitably secured thereto, as by nuts 36 or the like. Secured to shaft 34 is a support plate 38 on which is superimposed a turntable 40 suitably journaled for rotation about the shaft and carrying a spider or spoked wheel 42, held in place by nut 44, and having radially disposed spokes 46. To the outer end of each spoke 46 there is provided, as at 47, a rod or support element 48 which is adapted to support the cable 24, upon occasion, as well hereinafter appear. As seen in FIG. 6, each support element 48 comprises a roller sleeve 50 which is iournaled on the body of the element and retained thereon by an enlarged end or cap 52. To limit pivotal movement, element 48 is provided with a stop in the form of a flat portion 49 which is adapted to abut the associated spoke 46.

Companion support shaft 34' has associated therewith items 38', 40, 42', 44', 46, 47, 48', 49, 50', and 52' which are the counterparts of the items designated by similar, but unprimed, reference numerals and perform the same functions.

As best seen in FIG. 5, rods or supporting elements 48 and 48 in effect intermesh so that the roller sleeves 50 and 50' carried thereby may be placed side-by-side in substantially horizontal bridging position over a pair of substantially horizontal support members, such as bars 54 and 54' or the like. Bar 54 is secured to or formed with a pair of arcuate members 56, 58 joined by a connecting bar 60 suitably fixed to support shaft 34, as by welding or the like. In like manner, bar 54 has associated therewith arcuate members 56', 58 and bar member 60' fixed to support shaft 34'.

Viewing FIGS. 2 through 4, it will be appreciated that members 58, 58 slope as well as curve and thereby provide a guiding or camming surface by which roller sleeves 50 and 50, respectively, are engaged during rotation of wheels 42, 42' for moving supporting elements 48, 48' from a generally vertical depending position to the substantially horizontal bridging position over support bars 54, 54'. Rotation is imparted to wheels 42, 42 by movement of the chair lift hanger rod 28 therebetween.

As seen in FIG. 5, with hanger rod 28 moving in the direction of the arrow, it passes between the enlarged ends of the supporting elements 48, 48' shown at the lower part of the figure, hereinafter referred to as the trailing supporting elements, and into engagement with roller sleeve 50 of the supporting element 48' which is atop support bars 54, 54 and in side-by-side relation with roller 50 of a supporting element 48, also atop bar members 54, 54'. Continued movement of hanger rod 28 sweeps the supporting elements just mentioned ahead until they are separated and occupy the same position as the supporting elements 48, 48' shown in the upper part of the figure, hereinafter referred to as the advanced supporting elements, whereupon the hanger rod clears the enlarged ends of the elements and passes on. In the meantime, wheels 42, 42' are rotated about one-eight of a circle, thereby advancing the trailing supporting elements, which are eammed upwardly by members 58, 58' from positions below the horizontal into the substantially horizontal bridging position on support members 54, 54', and thus replace the supporting elements swept out of the way by passage of the hanger rod. With the passage of the next chair lift hanger rod, the process is repeated, the supporting elements in bridging position being swept ahead to the position of the advanced supporting elements, the trailing supporting elements being advanced to the bridging position. Hence, movement of the supporting elements into and out of bridging position occurs sequentially with the passing of the chair lift hanger rods through the space between support members 54, 54.

To insure that the supporting elements are properly related when in bridging position, means for indexing the wheels 42, 42 are provided which, as shown in FIG. 2, may take the form of a ball 62 disposed in a bore 64 in plate 38 and pressed by a spring 66 into a depression 68 formed in the bottom of turntable 40, the spring being retained and tensioned by an adjustable set screw 70. It is understood, of course, that a plurality, for example, eight, of such spring-pressed balls 62 may be provided, equi-angularly spaced around the turntable, and the associated depressions 68 may be interconnected by a shallow annular groove which deepens adjacent to each depression to provide slopes on which the balls ride to index the turntable 40', and the similar means are provided for indexing turntable 40.

Now, should cable 24 be dislodged from sheaves 22 it would be caught and supported by the supporting elements 48, 48 which are at the time in bridging position atop support bars 54, 54', the roller sleeves of the elements reducing friction and the enlarged ends serving to space the roller sleeves so they turn freely and do not rub against each other. The passage of a hanger rod 28 would, as before, sweep the supporting elements in bridging position out of the way and bring up the trailing supporting elements to take their place. It is to be noted that the trailing supporting elements are in overlapping relation for support of cable 24 prior to the supporting elements being swept out of the way and no longer in such relationship and that camming the trailing supporting elements up from depending vertical positions insures that they come into overlapping supporting relation below the cable even though there is slack in the cable and it droops or is somewhat draped over the supporting elements in bridging position.

It is to be noted that after supporting elements 48, 48' move past the advanced supporting elements position they ordinarily will assume the vertical position. Sometimes, because of dust of freezing or other reason, the supporting elements do not fall readily to the vertical position which is necessary for them to clear the sides of support structure 18 (FIG. 2). For this reason, there is provided a guide member 72 suitably secured to the support structure, member 72 having a concave guide or camming surface 74 which engages any errant element 48 and cams it to the vertical position. Member 72 on the opposite side of structure 18 has a concave surface 74 which preforms similarly in the case of any errant elements 48'.

To preclude the cable 24 from falling off the sheaves on the other side thereof, a suitable guard member, for example, an angle iron 76, suitably secured to the top of support structure 18, may be provided.

OPERATION It is believed that the operation of the safety device of the present invention is apparent from the foregoing description and is briefly sumarized at this point. Upon dislodgment of cable 24 it falls upon the supporting elements 48, 48' which are in bridging position (FIG. 5) and is supported thereby for movement on the roller sleeves thereof until arrival of a chair lift hanger rod 28 which sweeps these supporting elements ahead and brings up the trailing supporting elements for continuous support and movement of the cable.

There has thus been provided a safety device for ski lift cables which supports a dislodged cable for continued movement, accommodating the passage of chair lift hanger rods, and operating in a safe and reliable manner.

Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded full scope so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.

Having described the invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A safety device for a ski lift cable comprising movable support means disposed below such a cable and adapted to support said cable upon occasion providing a plurality of support elements placed in cable supporting position in sequence, and operating means including a chair lift hanger rod operable by movement of said cable for successively moving said support elements into cable supporting position.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said support elements when in cable supporting position bridge a gap through which said hanger rod passes. 3. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said movable support means comprises means rotatable about an axis and having supporting elements located radially from said axis, said elements adapted to be sequentially placed in bridging position over a pair of spaced support members, and

said operating means comprises a chair lift hanger rod engageable with said rotatable means for rotating the same.

4. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein said rotatable means comprises a wheel having spokes to which said supporting elements are pivotally connected, and

said hanger rod engages one of said supporting elements for rotating said wheel and moving another of said supporting elements into said bridging position during movement of said hanger rod through the space between said support members.

5. The device as defined in claim 4 wherein said last-named supporting element in movement to said bridging position is guided from a position below the horizontal upwardly to said bridging position which is substantially horizontal.

6. The device as defined in claim 5 wherein said supporting elements comprise rollers.

5 6 7. A safety device for a ski lift cable comprising, in tioning means for camming said pair of elements to combination said bridging position.

a pair of spaced support members between which a 9. The safety device as defined in claim 8 wherein each chair lift hanger rod fixed to said cable is adapted of said supporting elements includes a roller sleeve. to pass; rotatable means comprising a pair of spider wheels, 5 References Cited each associated with one of said support members, UNITED STATES PATENTS respectively; supporting elements connected to said spider wheels 2228391 1/1941 Hunzlker 104-180 and adapted during rotation thereof sequentially to 3274954 9/1966 Doppelmayr 104' 115 10 3,382,816 5/ 1968 Goforth 104-242 intermesh for placing a pair of said elements, one from each of said spider wheels, respectively, in

substantially horizontal position over said support ARTHUR LA POINT Pnmary Exammer members. DANIEL F. WORTH, III, Assistant Examiner 8. The safety device as defined in claim 7 wherein 15 said supporting elements are pivoted to their respec- R- tive spider wheels, and 104-189 said support members have associated therewith posi- 

